CONFERENCE WATCH:

NCRC Urges Committee Withstand Pressure to Remove Independent Appraisals, Sounds Concern on Rating Agencies’ Conflict of Interest But Praises Senate Vote on Homeowner Advocate in HAMP Program

Washington, DC (June 16, 2010) -- Today John Taylor, CEO and President of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, urged the conference committee to withstand pressure to remove independent appraisal requirements on mortgages in the financial reform bill and expressed disappointment with its failure to resolve the troubling conflict of interest between credit rating agencies and Wall Street. Taylor also urged inclusion of an Office of the Homeowner Advocate in HAMP to conduct loan modification appeals brought by homeowners and serve as a policy voice for homeowners.

Taylor said: “Financial reform cannot happen with removing the existing monetary incentives we have allowed the financial industry to build into financial products, including mortgages and the services rating agencies provide. We took a step backward yesterday by refusing to deal with the rating agencies’ conflict of interest. We cannot afford to take another step backwards by caving to pressure from the brokers and Realtors to remove independent appraisals on mortgages. Inflated valuations on homes helped blow the housing bubble bigger and bigger until it burst. To prevent another crisis, we need to remove the financial incentives to do more harm than good.”

Senate bill weaker on consumer protections than House bill will need to get strengthened in conference committee

Washington, DC-- Today, the United States Senate passed a financial reform bill . A last minute managers amendment from Senator Dodd has not been made public yet, but based on the details of the bill known earlier today, John Taylor, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), made the following statement:

The Senate has today passed a promising financial reform bill: necessary financial reforms will become law. But this legislative victory came at a great cost. More than 8 million Americans lost their livelihood, and millions are losing their homes. Families and whole neighborhoods have been torn apart. Unfortunately, this is more than lost decade for many Americans; this has been the destruction of the American Dream.

Voluntary nature, rising unemployment and underwater homeowners impede progress of foreclosure prevention program

Washington, DC – The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is a critical tool to ensure that banks and financial institutions put their capital to work lending to responsible homeowners and small businesses — that’s the message of leading experts testifying before a subcommittee hearing of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) on proposals to enhance the law. CRA modernization is on HFSC Chairman Barney Frank’s agenda this year, following a drawn out fight in Congress over health care and Wall Street reform. The White House has also indicated support for modernizing CRA in the coming months.

Washington, DC — In reaction to the news that Bank of America would launch a principal reduction program, John Taylor, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, today made this statement:

“Bank of America is to be commended for launching a program to reduce principal balances on loans that are underwater. Principal reduction is an important tool in making loans sustainable for many borrowers. The rest of the industry should follow suit. And federal policy should reflect the growing consensus that principal reductions are required to stem the foreclosure crisis, not more half measures that push the problem down the road. For example, while the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) allows for principal reductions, the program has been hamstrung by its lack of an explicit requirement that lenders and servicers do so. Lenders and servicers must be compelled to take more aggressive actions to prevent foreclosure. And the federal government should take action to exercise its authority to mandate such reductions on loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”

John Taylor will testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform committee on the HAMP and Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) tomorrow.

Click here to view this press release as a .pdf

Washington, DC – Today the Obama Administration will announce changes to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and to FHA. John Taylor, president & CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition made the following statement:

“The Administration has once again shown their willingness to go back to the drawing board to address programmatic challenges. The enhancements announced today will be helpful to unemployed borrowers and some homeowners who find themselves underwater.”

“But I’m not optimistic that the incentives will be enough to entice servicers and investors to reduce loan principals. Will they help seven million people who are at risk of foreclosure? I will be pleasantly shocked if investors step up for half a million borrowers. The real acceleration in the number of foreclosures prevented will come with mandatory principal writedowns.”

“We’ve surveyed housing counselors from the front lines of the foreclosure crisis, and they tell us that the battle is being lost.” said John Taylor, president & CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. “While this administration has been more proactive than the last, Making Home Affordable is simply failing to make enough of a difference relative to the size of the problem. It’s not for lack of good ideas, including more aggressive principal reductions that this crisis has been allowed to continue mostly unabated. The end result, if we don’t get ahead of this problem now, is the ongoing loss of wealth from America’s communities.”

Washington, DC—The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) is pleased to announce the official launch of the Washington, DC Women's Business Center (WBC) on March 23 at 3 p.m. at the John A. Wilson Building, located at 1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW (room 412). The event will be hosted by the Small Business Administration, the Washington, DC City Council, and NCRC. It will feature remarks from Karen Mills, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration; Kwame Brown, At-large Member of the Washington, DC City Council; and Christina Tchen, Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls.

Seven Community Leaders Are Honored with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition's

National Achievement Awards

Washington, DC – Hundreds of people from community organizations around the country attended the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s national conference, March 10-13 in Washington, DC. Attendees heard exciting speeches from Rep. Elijah Cummings, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and HUD Assistant Secretary John Trasviña and FHA Commissioner Dave Stevens, among other administration officials. NCRC also announced the winners of its esteemed National Achievement Awards. Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. presented the awards to seven community leaders during NCRC’s 20^th anniversary conference on March 12, in Washington, DC. Detailed information about the winners and the awards follows below: